As his star ascends, he has gained enormous power within the movie industry, yet never wields or abuses it. Young leggy women flock to a man in his position, but he just got engaged to the woman he’s been dating since before he started in movies. And she’s not even a starlet. She’s practically a real person (she’s a writer).

“I don’t know if I’m the worst movie star in Hollywood,” he muses as he crosses his Los Angeles hotel suite to grab a bottle of water from the mini-bar, “but I’m certainly the most boring movie star in Hollywood.

“Fans don’t chase me down the street, and the paparazzi don’t even bother to stalk me. And I don’t blame them. I’m boring.”

Rogen, 28, doesn’t go clubbing, never trashes hotel rooms and has never been seen in public with Lindsay Lohan. In fact, the most controversial thing he’s done recently is to accept the role of Britt Reid, a slacker who inherits his father’s publishing empire and begins a double life as a businessman by day and a masked avenger by night.

The reason the role as “The Green Hornet” is so controversial is that angry fans of the Green Hornet comic books have been setting the Internet afire with attacks on the casting, as well as Rogen’s decision (he’s the movie’s executive producer and co-writer) to make the film both a comedy and an action film.

But, for some unexplained reason, the early fanboy outrage has been overcome, and the buzz around Hollywood is that “The Green Hornet,” which co-stars Jay Chou as Kato (the sidekick role that made Bruce Lee a star when he played the part on the 1960s TV series), might do quite well at the box office.

The tall, affable Rogen, who laughs at almost everything, discusses the fan backlash, and whether he ever cared about the online attacks. We also asked him if he still believes, as he told The Orange County Register in an interview several years ago, that he approaches every project assuming it’s going to fail.

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: May I play devil’s advocate for a moment?

SETH ROGEN: Sure.

Q. What the heck are you doing in the role of the Green Hornet?

A. (laughs) That’s a good question.

Q. You were expecting that question, weren’t you?

A. Yeah.

Q. Well, please answer it.

A. Me and Evan (writing partner Evan Goldberg) have been life-long comic book fans, and as these movies got more and more popular, we thought we could add something to the genre. Not all of them are that tremendously creative, or trying to set themselves apart from each other, and we thought we could do one that’s a little different.

Q. I’m not asking why you wrote this movie; I’m asking about casting yourself in the role. Did you always have yourself in mind as the Green Hornet?

A. The first thing was just writing it, but we didn’t think that me in the role was that crazy. It certainly wasn’t any crazier than any other idea we’ve had (laughs). We’d never want to do a straight, literal interpretation of the comic book. That wouldn’t be a fun writing exercise. But we thought this would be a fun way to bring the Green Hornet to life in the movies and, at the same time, allow us a chance to bring our own version of a comic book movie.

Q. There have been many names associated with this role over the years, including Nic Cage. Did all those actors have to fall through for you to consider playing the role?

A. No, I was always going to play the role, at least since we got involved in the project. The concept is simple – a guy and his sidekick fight crime but don’t get along because the sidekick does everything better than the main guy. That seemed perfect for me to play. If he was capable and more typical of a comic-book hero, that would take away from the whole dynamic of the relationship.

Q. And the fact that your character starts out as an irresponsible bum almost seems like typecasting, doesn’t it?

A. Exactly (laughs). We wanted to start the guy off as far from a superhero as possible so we could see him transform into a superhero, and who is farthest from a superhero than me? It made the journey that much more interesting to see his change.

Q. But you never considered playing Kato?

A. No. But that would have been cool (laughs).

Q. Were you ever upset by the Internet response to your casting?

A. Not really. They complain about everything. Actually, their complaints kind of legitimized the movie. Frankly, I think the complaints are irrelevant because I’ve never seen any proof anywhere that Internet complaints have any impact on how a movie does at the box office. Look at all the outrage over “Spider-Man.”

Q. I don’t think you’re old enough, but how familiar were you with Bruce Lee’s portrayal of Kato on the TV show?

A. I wasn’t hugely familiar with it before, but once we took on the project, we became really familiar with it.

Q. How far back did you go in your research?

A. We went all the way back to the original radio programs in the 1930s.

Q. Was that helpful?

A. Not at all (laughs). The biggest help was the TV show. That’s where we got a lot of our inspiration from. It was the most ripe for subversion.

Q. How difficult a balancing act is it to make an action movie that is also a comedy?

A. It can be difficult, but you can play with it a lot in the editing. A joke in the wrong place can hurt the authenticity of an action scene, and if a scene gets too serious, it can hurt the whole comedic aspect of the movie.

Q. When there is so much comedy, how serious should the audience take the movie?

A. When the hero of the movie wears a mask, how serious can you take it? (laughs). It’s not “Winter’s Bone.” It’s supposed to be a big fun movie. We’re not trying to make any political statements, or reach any conclusions about the media.

Q. Are media people asking you media questions because your character owns a media empire?

A. A few are asking, particularly in Italy.

Q. Italy?

A. They were obsessed with WikiLeaks in Italy. It was very strange. They kept asking us questions about WikiLeaks because I play a newspaper publisher, and I don’t even read newspapers.

Q. Good to know. I can write anything I want, and you’ll never see it.

A. (Laughs).

Q. A few years ago, you told me that you always assume failure when you start a new project. Is that still true?

A. I think I always accept that it could go that way. It’s nice when things work out well, and it’s particularly nice if you’ve assumed in advance that it’s going to fail.

Q. What about this particular movie? I’m sure you’re aware that the initial buzz was negative, but the buzz has turned around. Are you assuming failure?

A. Yeah. It’s really helpful to see how certain jokes play, and whether certain action scenes are playing slow.

Q. Do you think it’ll make a lot of money?

A. That’s not my job. That’s the studio’s job to worry about that.

Q. But its success certainly affects you?

A. Yes, it does.

Q. You once told me that your philosophy on making money is that the more money you make, the longer you can go without working?

A. (laughs). That’s not the case anymore because I seem to be working all the time. But, if I stopped working right now, I could go a long time without working. And that might happen because I have nothing lined up. This could be my last movie.

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